The WORST episodes of Restaurant: Impossible
Every episode of Restaurant: Impossible ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Restaurant: Impossible!
After combating countless "impossible dinners," Chef Robert Irvine faces a daunting new challenge: save America’s most desperate restaurants from impending failure in just two days with only $10,000. In his new prime-time Food Network series, Restaurant: Impossible, Robert uses creativity and resourcefulness along with a lot of muscle in his fight to rescue these restaurants and give hope to the owners and their employees. Day one of the extreme mission begins with a thorough business assessment as Robert launches the restaurant into full service, closely observes the staff and kitchen, and determines their weakest spots. Then, he springs into action by updating the menu, retraining the staff and implementing aesthetic changes with the help of his design team. To ensure a packed house for the grand re-opening at the end of day two, Robert hits the streets to tell the community about the improved restaurant. Will the ruthless schedule, tight budget and ambitious task overcome Robert’s lofty goals, or will this tall order result in restaurant triumph?
#1 - Recipe for Disaster
Season 9 - Episode 13 - Aired 11/3/2014
Robert Irvine deals with an explosive family that's about to implode while trying to keep Papa C's Eastside Cafe in Fairport, N.Y., in business. Included: The owner and his three sons play the "blame game" rather than do their jobs; inches of grease and grime need to be removed before the restaurant can be reopened.
Watch Now:Apple TV#2 - Holy Cow!
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/20/2014
The divorced owners of the Country Cow Restaurant and Bar in Campton, N.H., are on their best behavior for Robert's visit, but the staff and behind-the-scenes footage reveal that animosity between the couple is a problem that needs his uttermost attention.
Watch Now:Apple TV#3 - A Big Mess in Texas
Season 20 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/2/2021
Chef Robert Irvine travels to Joshua, Texas, to save a failing Tex-Mex restaurant. Owners Carmen and Wayne are serving subpar food, and the environment in the restaurant is toxic. To top it off, Carmen and Wayne's relationship is in dire straits, too, so Robert has his hands full cleaning up this Tex-Mex mess and helping turn things around.
Watch Now:Apple TV#4 - Revisited: Out of Date But Not Out of Time
Season 17 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/18/2020
Robert Irvine returns to Paterson, N.J., to check on one of his most-unique renovations, Paul's Bar and Bowling. When Robert first visited Paul's in 2014, the family business hadn't been updated in decades. With the building falling apart and the owner stuck in a different era, Robert and his team had to make up for a lot of lost time. Now he's back to see if Paul has been able to keep up the improvements and ensure success for years to come.
Watch Now:Apple TV#8 - Big Ego, Big Trouble
Season 20 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/30/2021
At Soul Food in the Park in York, Penn., owner Audra makes up for her lack of knowledge and confidence by yelling at her husband; Robert Irvine and his team race to completely renovate her rundown building and help Audra overcome her anger issues.
Watch Now:Apple TV#9 - Villari's
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/19/2011
Chef Robert Irvine is in Palmyra, NJ to see if he can save a 60yr old family restaurant from failure. Paul Villari III took over his family's restaurant from his father 15 years ago and has watched as the customer base has literally died off. Paul has been unable to bring a new customer base in and has found himself on the brink of having to shut down this neighborhood icon. With outdated décor and a disastrous kitchen, it's a race to the finish as Robert tries to put Villari's back on the path to success. Will he succeed or will this be Restaurant: Impossible?
Watch Now:Apple TV#10 - Sullivan's Grill
Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/4/2012
Chef Robert Irvine's expertise at saving failing restaurants is put to the test at Sullivan's in Fruita, CO. The restaurant is on the verge of bankruptcy and owner Ginny is on the verge of a breakdown. Neglected and dirty, Sullivan's needs chef Robert and his team to give it a new identity in the kitchen and in the dining room. Will the tight deadline and $10,000 budget be too much to save this failing pub?
Watch Now:Apple TV#11 - Soul Searching
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/20/2013
Chef Robert travels to Hagerstown, Md., on a mission to save the Georgia Boy Cafe. The stress of the restaurant is ruining the once loving relationship between owners Chuck and Montez, who now avoid each other at all costs or end up screaming at each other in front of their guests. Robert also needs to address the heaping health hazards in the kitchen, but first, he needs to get the owners back on speaking terms.
Watch Now:Apple TV#12 - Bring Mama Back
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/23/2013
After seven years of successfully running the St. Louis landmark Mama Campisi's Restaurant, owners Andrea and Lance were blindsided by employee theft: Two years later, business is spiraling and Chef Robert Irvine has just two days to address trust issues, frozen food in the kitchen and finances that aren't adding up if there's any chance of restoring this restaurant to its former glory.
Watch Now:Apple TV#13 - Windseeker Restaurant
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/16/2013
Windseeker Restaurant in Dalles, Ore., is suffering from years of bad publicity and negative word of mouth. Chef Robert Irvine has only two days and $10,000 to help owner Veta break bad habits, clean up the restaurant's image, and entice customers to this off-the-beaten-path destination.
Watch Now:Apple TV#14 - Living in the Dark Ages
Season 8 - Episode 10 - Aired 5/20/2014
A BBQ restaurant with a caveman/dinosaur theme needs to be saved from extinction in Winter Garden, Fla. On Robert's to-do list is an overhaul of the decor, which consists of inflatables and foam rocks. He also offers tips to control the kitchen chaos created by the owner's brother.
Watch Now:Apple TV#15 - Missing Pepper in Baton Rouge
Season 22 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/19/2023
In Baton Rouge, La., an owner struggles to keep going after losing her husband years ago. Over a quarter-million dollars in debt, Yolanda is letting everything fall apart in her restaurant. Robert Irvine must help her let go in order to save her dying business, but if she can't find the strength to become a motivated owner, she'll lose a lot more than just her restaurant.
Watch Now:Apple TV#16 - Family Recipe for Disaster
Season 21 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/19/2022
Robert Irvine treks to Sylacauga, Ala., to visit Giovanni's Italian Restaurant. Grieving owner Chrissy is struggling to keep her family's restaurant going after the sudden death of her sister. Robert must help Chrissy rediscover her passion if this outdated restaurant is going to survive.
Watch Now:Apple TV#17 - It's All Greek to Me
Season 6 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/23/2013
In the quaint town of Woodstock, Ill., where they filmed the movie Groundhog Day are cousins Angelo and Angelo and their diner, Angelo's. Their fathers started the restaurant 40 years ago but much like the movie, every day has been the same — the same menu, the same decor and the same family drama. Robert has two days to unravel the issues of this Greek restaurant and figure out why the cousins are dangerously close to ruining their namesake restaurant and all their fathers' hard work.
Watch Now:Apple TV#18 - Up in Smoke
Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/5/2014
Robert deems the barbecue bland and the management inefficient when he arrives at the Mill Creek BBQ in Redlands, Cal., in the Season 8 premiere, which also finds him helping to repair the owner's relationship with her 21-year-old daughter
Watch Now:Apple TV#19 - Dirtiest. Kitchen. Ever.
Season 20 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/6/2022
Chef Robert Irvine heads to the Jalisco Cafe in San Diego and tackles one of the filthiest kitchens of his career; with endless obstacles and only 48 hours to turn this restaurant around, the challenge might actually be impossible.
Watch Now:Apple TV#20 - Paradise: Impossible
Season 9 - Episode 11 - Aired 10/6/2014
Robert Irvine is in South Padre Island to help the Padre Rita Grill. The grill has both food and music, but they're not doing either very well. Robert must overhaul the tacky decor and get the owners focused on the bottom line.
Watch Now:Apple TV#21 - Golf: Impossible
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/13/2014
The Pomona Golf and Country Club in Egg Harbor City, N.J., is a nine-hole golf course and clubhouse that has been run by three cousins for the past decade. With few changes to the clubhouse in its 45 years, a lack of new and younger clients has prevented this business from turning a profit, straining the owners' relationships in the process. Chef Robert Irvine is tasked with coming up with a whole new business plan to get these owners' heads out of the sand.
Watch Now:Apple TV#22 - Dirty Laundry
Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/29/2014
Chef Robert Irvine heads to Hillbillies Restaurant in Murphys, Calif., to investigate why Jami's breakfast and lunch spot is failing. While the name promises backwoods charm, Robert finds nothing charming about a decor consisting of rusty kitchen utensils on the wall and a dirty underwear clothesline on the ceiling. Getting rid of the clutter is only half of Robert's battle, as he also needs to turn Jami from world's biggest pushover to empowered business owner
Watch Now:Apple TV#24 - Game Over
Season 10 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/18/2015
Brothers Jon and Bobby opened Bene Pizza and Pasta, a restaurant/arcade in Omaha 13 years ago. Business was booming until Bobby got sick and business dropped, requiring their mom's financial help to keep the doors open. Chef Robert Irvine has his hands full trying to mend the years' worth of hurt feelings between the brothers, get mom to loosen her reins and figure out what to do with the noisy arcade.
Watch Now:Apple TV#25 - The Writing on the Wall
Season 8 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/28/2014
Daniel is the owner and operator of a successful sawmill, and thought he would be able to run Big Jim's Bama Q in Hammondville, Ala., when he purchased it ten months ago. But his inexperience and naiveness in thinking he could sit back and cash in on the restaurant's reputation has instead left him seeking Chef Robert Irvine's help. Robert needs to find a way to make this restaurant distinctly Daniel's, and that means new food, a new look and new knowledge and passion to turn this dump into a barbecue destination.
Watch Now:Apple TV